Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-04-30
VANDUSENrS PIRACY,
The Biggest Sensation Of the Nine
teenth Century.
ny r. W. THOMSON

The following narrative is prophetically
extracted from the New York Times of jan
nary 2, 1900;
Not the least interesting among the multi
tudiuous recollections of the nineteenth CEN
tury which engrossed America yesterday is
that Of the famous Lake Michigan piracy Of
1887. Many still quite young will remember
the horror of the nation on that June even
ing when the news came that Milwaukee had
been bombartied with Greek fire that after
noon. and that Chicago was threatened with /
the same fate. The public CONSERVATION and .
fury surpassed for some days even that Of /
the propertied classes eight years ago. when .
the Socialists first carried the presidential .
election. From Mr.. Peleg q. Scudly. prom
inent citizen of Milwaukee, who resided .
there when the bombardment occurred the /
Times reporter last evening obtained the fol-
lowing graphic account Of the affair.
do I remember the Arthabasca bonn
harding Milwaukee," said Mr.. Scudly gen
tally II should say so. More likely to
forget my wife or my name! Why, it was
the darndest, boldest, most villainous thing
that ever happened. You're too young to
remember it, ehg''
NO" said the Times representative. II
recollect the excitement well enough. was
nine years old then. But ] never exactly
understood how the thing came about.
How was it possible. anyhow
81 don't wonder at your asking that"
answered Mr.. Scudly. "Now that the latter
ports are fortified, and the lakes each with
its ironclad, folks feel safe against such
another attempt. But you see there wasn't
q big gun up there at that time, nor an
armed vessel except O little wooden gunboat.
Hore'n that, there was no way of fetching
them up at short notice. The railroads
hadn't trucks ready to carry very heavy
cannon; the Erie canal was little more than
ditch the st. Lawrence canals wouldn't
PASS really large craft clear up from the sea.
So there were the great lakes all undefended,
and the only wonder is that Nandusen's
game wasn't tried earlier
But how did he contrive to arm his vessel
without anybody getting wind Of it''
Well, you see this was how it all hap
pened. The British owned Canada then
that was before the Dominion became an
independent republic. In the winter of 1886
everybody saw that England and Russia
were bound to fight soon. The Canadians
were howling for protection for their Pacific
ports-specialIy Victoria. So, in May, 1887,
the British sent cargo of cannon and am
munition TO Montreal to be transported
across the continent TO Victoria by the Cana
dian Pacific railway. There was q fifty-ton
gun beside lot of heavy Armstrong; and q
dozen or more of long-range Nordenfeldts,
together with any amount of shells and
cartridges for the whole caboodle. Well,
when the stuff reached Montreal the New
York Herald made out that the armament
was a threat against this country, and so it
blazed away at the British government day
in and day out, demanding explanations
and assurances and so on. 1t was big
newspaper sensation. The papers chipped
in all round, and the Canuck journals,
especially the Toronto Globe, were mighty
bumptious in telling our folks to mind their
own business. Of course it was all this
talk that started Nandusen on his scheme.
He was a born American, but had gone to
Germany and entered into q conspiracy to
blow up Prince Bismarck. That made him
political refugee. He was a mighty small
man. and had the contro! OF considerable
funds for the Communists
We'll, while everybody was talking about
the tifty-ton gun, the Canadian Pacific rail
way found their bridges round the north
shore of Lake Superior needed some strength
ening before they'd pass heavy ordnance
train safely. They ran the train few hun
dred miles west of Montreal, and then side
tracked it ON the Algoma branch, line that
struck Lake Huron water at Algoma Mills,
then q little back kwoods village hundreds of
miles from anywhere. To get the ordnance
train out of fthe road of traffic it was run down
to Algoma Mills and there switched off just
al of he w har N
ishing. Of course. all this was in the papers
and Vandusen hadn't much to do but read
EN- just then.
Same time the Canadian Pacific was run
ming line of steamers from Owen sound on
Lake Huron to Fort William, at head OF
Lake Superior. The Arthabasca was one OF
'em-a big. strong, iron ship Scotch built,
very fast and inspected by the British ad
miralty before she was sent out, so as to
make sure she was fit to carry guns if asked
to- She was brought out in sections and put
together on the lakes. So you see every,
thing was ready to hand for Vandusen and
his gang of refugees and Communards They
had taken to Canada because, after the plot
against Bismarck, the Germans in the states
made this country too hot for 'em. Most all
were up 10 everything in the war business.
Toward the end of May it was noticed that
agood many of EN- were fooling round To
ronto, where Vandusen lived, and around
owen sound, where the Arthabasca stopped
for day and night each trip. There was "A
talk about Vandusen being at work on ex-
Plosives-that was the new Greek fret
had some chemical name, but forget it, the
stun they afterward filled the shells with
Well, the Canadian police were Just thinking
70 seize the whole gang when the news came
thai they had collected at Owen sound,
seized the Arthabasca, with the whole crew
and engineers aboard asleep, and put Off in
the night for nobody knew where That was
startling, but nothing to what followed
Not even next day, when the wires tc
Algoma were reported down did any on,
suspect the scheme II wasn't till two day
afterward that any news came of the Artka
basca. Then the operator at Mackinay
straits reported that queer-loOking Graf
had run South very fast In the evening int
Lake Michigan. later fisherman ran int
Nsckinaw settlement in riddled skiff. II
had been almost under the bows of tn
Arthsbasca about twilight. Vandusen ha
ordered him and his crew aboard, and whe
they refused TO 90, had opened on the
smack with NOrdenfeldt. The skipper ha
jumped overheard and escaped by freq1ei
the Afthabsscs steamed ahead he manage
to right the nearly shattered skiff and cam
in, badly wounded, with the news. He n
ported the Arthabascs's upper works cleare
Oh and that she was carrying an immens
gun nearly amidships, with smaller cannO
and Nordenfeldts ff0wning In every dire
ton. You may bet there was wild excitt
ment everywhere 1t that news, but still n
one could Imagine vsndusen's game. Sool
Milwaukee discovered II.
About four O'Clock In the afternoon tn
Arthahasoa steamed toward the city. 1t We